Stratospheric sulfate geoengineering enhances terrestrial gross primary productivity

Abstract

Stratospheric sulfate geoengineering could impact the terrestrial carbon cycle by enhancing the carbon sink. With an 8 Tg yr −1 injection of SO 2 to balance a Representative Concentration Pathway 6.0 (RCP6.0) scenario, we conducted climate model simulations with the Community Earth System Model, with the Community Atmospheric Model 4 fully coupled to tropospheric and stratospheric chemistry (CAM4-chem). During the geoengineering period, as compared to RCP6.0, land-averaged downward visible diffuse radiation increased 3.2 W m −2 (11 %). The enhanced diffuse radiation combined with the cooling increased plant photosynthesis by 2.4 %, which could contribute to an additional 3.8 ± 1.1 Gt C yr −1 global gross primary productivity without nutrient limitation. This increase could potentially increase the land carbon sink. Suppressed plant and soil respiration due to the cooling would reduce natural land carbon emission and therefore further enhance the terrestrial carbon sink during the geoengineering period. This beneficial impact of stratospheric sulfate geoengineering would need to be balanced by a large number of potential risks in any future decisions about implementation of geoengineering.